The present invention pertains generally to wildlife shelters. More particularly, the present invention pertains to birdhouses having a plurality of modular units which can each be quickly and conveniently serviced, added and/or deleted as desired by the operator without disturbing the other modular units.
It is well-known that people place birdhouses in their backyards for providing a nesting area for birds. As the birds arrive and nest in the birdhouses, they are observed by the birdhouse owner. This provides a sense of well-being and enjoyment for the owner, as well as a much-needed habitat for the birds.
Because birds tend to migrate and travel in flocks, the number of birds that may be nesting in a given area will vary, often dramatically so. To accommodate variations in the number of birds currently nesting, it is important to provide a modular birdhouse with separate and discrete units. Optimally, the birdhouse would allow the owner to quickly and conveniently service, add and/or subtract units as desired, according to the demand caused by the number of birds currently attempting to nest in the birdhouse and surrounding areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,762, which issued to Bennett for an invention entitled xe2x80x9cModular Shelter Assembly for Birdsxe2x80x9d, discloses a bird shelter wherein a collar is fixed to a support pole. Multiple tiers of individual pie-shaped compartments are fixed to the collar with mounting hooks so that the compartments extend outwardly from the support pole. For each tier, a common roof is fixed to the support pole with a roof collar so that it covers all of the compartments. However, since the common roof covers all the compartments in the device disclosed by Bennett, one cannot add or remove compartments without essentially disassembling the entire unit by removing the roof collar, removing the roof and then adding/subtracting compartments. Doing so will also most likely disturb any birds that are already nesting in adjacent compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,837, which issued to McClasky for an invention entitled, xe2x80x9cPurple Martin Bird House And Telescoping Polexe2x80x9d, discloses a birdhouse assembly with an underlying floor which is secured to a support collar. The floor terminates at a pair of opposing flanges, and nesting areas are created by sliding panels between the flanges and the panels are fixed in place by peg and slot mechanisms. The entire arrangement is overlaid with a roof that covers all the nesting areas and is attached to some of the panels with fasteners.
The device as disclosed by McClasky provides the same limitations as the device disclosed by Bennett, whereby the roof is permanently fastened to the panels. As such, adding/subtracting panels once the birdhouse is assembled is not possible.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a modular birdhouse having a plurality of separate and discrete nesting modules for birds. It is another object of the present invention to provide a modular birdhouse wherein each nest module has its own porch, predator guard and roof. It is another object of the present invention to provide a modular birdhouse wherein housing units or nest modules can be serviced, removed and/or added as necessary without disturbing any of the other units that are already assembled and/or occupied by birds. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a modular birdhouse with nest modules that can be removed and/or added without the use of tools or implements. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modular birdhouse which is easy to use, clean and maintain while also being economical to manufacture.
A modular birdhouse in accordance with the present invention includes an upstanding support pole, a collar and a plurality of nest modules. The support pole is placed in the ground or other suitable foundation structure and the collar is releasably fixed at various vertical positions as selected by the operator. The nest modules are then attached in a unique manner to the collar so that the nest modules extend radially outward from the support pole.
For the present invention, each nest module also includes a enclosure having four walls, an open top and an open bottom. The corners of the enclosure each include a enclosure notch proximate the bottom edge of the enclosure, and one of the walls is formed with a bird entrance opening to allow for bird ingress and egress. The size and shape of the opening can be varied or it can be entirely closed with removable entrance opening inserts. The lower module floor and the upper module ceiling have the same structure to facilitate the use and manufacture of the present invention and corner notches are formed both in the module floor and module ceiling.
For assembly, both the module floor and the house ceiling are attached to the enclosure to enclose the open top and the open bottom as defined by the walls. This aligns the enclosure notches with the notches in the module floor. Notches in the enclosure and the module floor combine co-extensively to establish a connector slot in each respective corner of the assembled nest module.
The modular birdhouse of the present invention also includes a plurality of wire forms to connect each corresponding nest module to the collar. The wire form is made of a flexible wire which is bent into a polygonal form that defines an inner area having a center axis. Each form preferably includes four form sides and four form corners. The ends of the wires are bent so that the ends are about parallel to each other and about perpendicular to the plane of the wire form. For attachment, the bent ends are inserted into corresponding openings on the underside of the collar. When the wire-form is attached to the collar, it will extend radially outward from the pole.
Once the nest module is assembled and the wire form is fixed to the collar, the nest module is attached to the wire form. This is accomplished by engaging each corner notch in the nest module with a respective form side of the wire form. This engagement will allow the wire form to support the nest module. A roof is placed over each module ceiling so that a plurality of nest modules are created which are completely self-contained units.
The modular birdhouse of the present invention further includes a predator guard which has an arcuate wall and a brace that merge into an arched perch bar. The predator guard is attached to the module floor so that it extends upward from the module floor between the access opening and a nesting cavity in the module floor. This arrangement prevents certain types of predators from entering the nest module through the access opening of the enclosure.
The nest module further includes a porch which is attached to one corner of the wire form. In particular, the porch is attached to a wire form corner furthest from the support pole. Once attached, the porch abuts the enclosure of the nest module and fixes the nest module in place preventing slippage or movement of the nest module once the connector slots are engaged with the form sides. Alternatively, the form corner furthest from the pole could be bent upwards. This provides an additional predator guard external to the enclosure, as well as an external perch area for any birds that might choose the birdhouse for a nesting area. In this alternative, the corner is bent upwards to establish a porch corner with the porch corner lying in a plane that is about perpendicular to the plane coincident with the wire form.